Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Clerks shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Clerks offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Clerks at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Clerks? Wrong! If the Clerks is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Clerks then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Clerks? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Clerks and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Clerks wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Clerks then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Clerks site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Clerks, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Clerks, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

{{Infobox Film| name = Clerks| image = Clerks.jpg| caption = Theatrical release poster| director = Kevin Smith (filmmaker)| producer = Scott Mosier
Kevin Smith (filmmaker)| writer = Kevin Smith (filmmaker)| starring = Brian O'Halloran
Jeff Anderson
Jason Mewes
Kevin Smith (filmmaker)| cinematography = David Klein
[Kevin Smith (filmmaker)| distributor = Miramax Films
View Askew, [1994 in film| runtime = 92 min.| country = | language = English language| budget = $27,000 (original)
$230,000 (post)| gross = $3,151,130| website = http://www.viewaskew.com/clerks/| followed_by = Clerks II (2006)] written and directed by Kevin Smith (filmmaker) (who also appears in the film in a minor role). Starring Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks and Jeff Anderson as Randal Graves, it presents a day in the lives of two shop clerks and their acquaintances. Clerks was the first of Smith's "View Askewniverse" films. It introduces several characters, notably Jay and Silent Bob, who reappear in View Askewniverse.

Plot Dante Hicks is a clerk at the Quick Stop, a local convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey. One morning, he receives a phone call from his boss, who claims that another employee is sick. After a brief argument, he reluctantly agrees to work, on the promise that he will be relieved at twelve o'clock so he can play hockey with his friends. When he arrives to open up the store, he realizes that the shutters outside won't open because someone jammed gum in the locks. With the shutters down, the store appears closed, so he writes "I assure you; we're open" in shoe polish on a large bed sheet and hangs it in front of the store.

Next, a man enters the store to buy coffee and talks a customer into buying chewing gum instead of cigarettes after showing him a human lung corroded by tar. A group forms around Dante angry that he is "selling death", and proceeds to call him a "Cancer Merchant". After Dante is assaulted with cigarettes, his girlfriend Veronica Loughran enters, acting quickly and calming the crowd by spraying them with a fire extinguisher. After a conversation, it is revealed that the man that aroused the crowd into action was a chewing gum representative, and was stirring up the smokers with intent on selling more gum.

A bit later, Dante and Veronica have a conversation regarding Dante's current disposition. After the conversation, Dante meets an old boyfriend of Veronica's, Willam "Snowball" Black (known as such for his enjoyment of his own semen being passed back into his mouth after fellatio). After a conversation, it is revealed that Veronica has, throughout her life, performed fellatio on 37 different men, for which Dante is furious, considering Veronica hit him in the previous conversation for having sex with twelve different women. Next, Dante's fellow clerk, Randal Graves, who works at the neighboring video store, shows up late once again. Dante later finds out that his ex-girlfriend Caitlin Bree is to be married to an Asian design major, much to Dante's disdain. As they pass time during the day they converse about many things, such as if the contractors working on the second Death Star when it was destroyed at the end of Return of the Jedi were innocent victims or not.

Dante eventually learns that his boss is in Vermont, so he decides to play hockey on the roof, and closes down the store, leaving a sign on the door explaining, "Store Closed. Will Re-open After 1st Period." Twelve minutes into the game an irate customer shoots their only ball off the roof and into a gutter. The two reopen the store and Dante finds out one of his ex-girlfriends has died and her memorial service is today. Randal talks him into closing the store again and going to the wake. The audience does not see what happened inside the house containing the memorial service, simply seeing them go in, time pass, a woman scream and the two run out (it should be noted that due to an unfilmed scene inside the house being animated for the 10th Anniversary Edition DVD, it is now known that while at the memorial Randal accidentally knocks over her coffin after trying to retrieve keys that are dropped in as an accident, and the body falls out). They rush back and when they return to the store, Randal asks to borrow Dante's car to rent a film on VHS tape.

While on duty, a fitness trainer enters the store, and criticizes Dante's body size, and observes that he's out of shape, even asking a customer for her opinion. It turns out the three actually attended high school together, and the two customers reveal that even they knew of Caitlin's infidelity, although Dante was oblivious. During the conversation, another man enters, and questions Dante about where he was earlier in the day, then serves Dante a summons. It turns out the man is there to serve Dante a $500 fine for selling cigarettes to a four-year-old, even though it was Randal who actually sold the cigarettes.

After Randal leaves, Dante is surprised by a visit from Caitlin. After some banter Dante becomes torn between her and Veronica. Dante finally decides he will go on a date with Caitlin and drives home to change, after Randal returns. When Dante returns he discovers Caitlin has had sex with a dead man in the bathroom mistaking him for Dante (the man had earlier entered the bathroom with a pornographic magazine). In severe shock, Caitlin is taken away in an ambulance along with the corpse she recently fornicated with. Later, Veronica comes into the Quickstop and yells at Dante after Randal tells her he was in love with Caitlin. The two, Dante and Randal, get into a huge fight then reconcile. The film ends with Randal walking out of the store before briefly returning to toss Dante's sign at him stating, "You're closed!" Kevin Smith. Clerks and Chasing Amy : Two Screenplays. Miramax Books. 1997.

The Lost Scene The events of Julie Dwyer's wake were scripted by Smith, but unfilmed due to the probable cost of producing the scene. However, for the tenth anniversary "Clerks X" DVD release, this scene was produced in animated form using an animation style similar to that of Clerks: The Animated Series. The 'lost scene' was also presented in comic book form of the Clerks. comic book series, with the title of Clerks. (comic)#Clerks. (The Lost Scene).

Dante Hicks and Randal Graves, after hearing of the death of Dante's former high school flame Julie Dwyer, go to her wake. At the wake, Randal picks up some death cards from a table and discusses collecting them like baseball cards. Dante also runs into another former high school classmate, Alyssa Jones. Alyssa tells Dante that she was going to see Julie's appearance on Truth or Date (see Mallrats) before she learned of her death. Randal walks over to the two and greets Alyssa with "Hey, 'Finger Cuffs'!", prompting her to angrily storm off.

As Dante and Randal wait in line to see Julie Dwyer's casket, Dante recalls the time he and Julie were caught having sex by her parents. When the two arrive at the casket, they question the choice of Julie's funeral clothing (a tube top), and Randal decides he's bored and wants to go to the car. Dante throws him the keys, but Randal misses the catch and the keys fall into Julie's pants. Dante reaches into the pants to find the keys while Randal rubs his shoulders, making it seem like Dante's upset. Julie's father pushes Randal out of the way and, after seeing Dante's actions, pounces on him. Randal is then pushed by Mrs. Dwyer and bumps into Julie's casket, which topples over, as does Julie's body. Randal catches the keys as they fly into the air, and he and Dante run out abruptly.

Cast

Production The film is in black-and-white and roughly edited due to a very modest budget of US$27,575. To acquire the funds for the film, Smith sold a large amount of his extensive comic book collection in 1993, maxed out eight to ten credit cards with $2000 limits, dipped into a portion of funds set aside for his college education and spent insurance money awarded for a car he and Jason Mewes lost in a flood. View Askewniverse Miscellaneous Info. The film was shot in 21 straight days (with two "pick-up" days). Originally, Smith wrote the role of Randal Graves for himself, but after realizing he couldn't write, direct, work in the store, and take a starring role at the same time, he cast himself in the smaller role of Silent Bob and began searching for someone to play Randal. According to Smith's commentary on the DVD, this is why Randal has the best lines.

A Quick Stop convenience store (located at 58 Leonard Avenue in Leonardo, New Jersey) where Smith worked was the primary setting for the film. He was only allowed to film in the store at night while it was closed (from 10:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.). This is why in the film "someone jammed gum in the locks" and the steel window shutter had to remain closed; otherwise, it would seem odd that it was dark outside during all the daytime scenes. Because Smith was working at Quick Stop during the day and shooting the film at night, he slept no more than an hour a day. By the end of the 21 day shoot, Smith was unable to stay awake while some of the most climactic scenes of the film were shot.

Several members of Smith's family played roles in the film due to budget constraints. When Dante is discussing the "Milk Maids", the shopper shown is Smith's mother and the customer whose job it is to "manually masturbate caged animals for artificial insemination" is played by Smith's sister, Virginia. Several of Smith's childhood friends also play roles in the film. Walt Flanagan plays four roles in this film: The "Woolen Cap Smoker" in the beginning (which he reprises in Clerks II), the famous "Egg Man", the "Offended Customer" (during the "jizz mopper" scene) and the "Cat Admiring Bitter Customer,". Walt never intended to play this many roles (Smith would often, in jest, refer to Flanagan as "the Lon Chaney, Sr. of the '90s"). As one of Smith's friends who was present often during filming as either extra help or just moral support, it fell to Walt to play these characters when the actors Smith originally got to play them just didn't show up. Walter currently manages Kevin's East Coast "Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash" in Red Bank, New Jersey.

Dante's beard changes throughout the film because Smith asked Brian O'Halloran to shave his goatee before filming started. After seeing what O'Halloran looked like without it, Smith told him to grow it back. Thus, the scenes earlier in the shoot show a thinner beard, while later ones show Dante with a thicker goatee, as it had longer to grow back.

In the scene where Randal lists the names of the porno movies he needs to order, he and the Happy Scrappy Hero Pup lady are not actually in the room at the same time. Jeff Anderson refused to read the list of porno films in front of her, and particularly in front of the child (although the reaction shots of the Happy Scrappy Hero Pup lady were obtained by a crew member reading the same list to her). In fact, Anderson also felt uncomfortable about knowing his mother would watch the film and hear the list and he, embarrassed, gave the list back to Smith to cut it down - mere seconds before shooting, Smith passed the list back to Anderson with a few more added for good measure. The young girl in this scene is Ashley Pereira, niece of Vincent Pereira (Director of "A Better Place" and "resident View Askew historian").

The original ending for the film was meant to continue from when Randal throws Dante's "I Assure You, We're Open" sign to him. After Randal leaves, Dante proceeds to count out the register and does not notice another person entering the store. Upon informing the latecomer that the store is no longer open, the customer shoots Dante, killing him. Afterwards, he makes off with the money from the cash register. The sequence ends with Dante's dead face looking off past the camera; after the credits roll, a customer (played by Smith, with his beard shaved off) comes into the store, sees no one around (Dante is lying behind the counter) and steals some cigarettes. The depressing ending was criticized by Smith's mentors Bob Hawk and John Pierson after its first screening at the Independent Feature Film Market, and it was under Pierson's advice that Smith cut the ending short, deleting Dante's death and ending the movie with Randal's departure. Fans have since analyzed the death of Dante as an homage to The Empire Strikes Back, which is discussed earlier in the film as Dante's favorite Star Wars movie because "it ended on such a down note". Deleted scenes from the extended cut of the film also implied that the killer would never be caught, as Randal disconnects the security cameras earlier in the day. Smith said it concluded this way because he "didn't know how to end a film." Both versions are available in Clerks. X, the tenth anniversary special edition; the lost ending itself was among the extras on the 1995 Laserdisc and the 1999 DVD release; in his commentary on the 1999 DVD, Smith states that had he kept the original ending, there would have likely been no further View Askewniverse films. The culprit in question was played by Smith's cousin John Willyung, who would go on to appear in later Smith films (most notably as "Cohee Lunden" in Chasing Amy).

The Motion Picture Association of America originally gave Clerks an MPAA film rating system, based purely on the film's explicit dialogue — it contains no real violence, and no clearly depicted nudity. This was a financial death sentence, as very few cinemas in the United States will screen NC-17 films. Miramax hired civil liberties lawyer Alan Dershowitz to appeal the decision; the MPAA relented and re-rated the film with the more commercial 'R' rating, without altering a single frame or word.

View Askew references Clerks

The Lost Scene

Reception The film became a surprising success after it was taken by Miramax Films and has made over $3,151,000 gross in the United States despite never playing on more than 100 theater screens in the United States at the same time. Box Office History for Clerks Movies, Nash Information Services, LLC. 1997-2006 Clerks won the "Award of the Youth" and the "Mercedes-Benz Award" at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, tied with Fresh (film) for the "Filmmakers Trophy" at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards (Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay and Jeff Anderson for Best Debut Performance).IMDB List of Awards for Clerks. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted Clerks the 16th greatest comedy film of all time and in 2006, British film magazine Empire (magazine) listed Clerks as the 4th greatest independent film. This film is also number 33 on Bravo (television network)'s 100 Funniest Movies. DigitalDreamDoor rated it the 7th best cult movie of all time and is in the Top 100 movies of the 90s.

Themes Often the items that the customers are purchasing are strangely and coincidentally relevant to the topics the characters are discussing. For example, the woman who interrupts Dante and Veronica's conversation about oral sex is purchasing Vaseline and rubber gloves. The offended customer in the "Jizz Mopper" scene is purchasing Windex and paper towels. The woman who "manually masturbates animals for artificial insemination" is purchasing jerky.

Because the filmmakers did not want to pay for the rights to use a particular cigarette brand, customers only ask for a "pack of cigarettes". Many fans pass this off by assuming that the Quick Stop only carries one brand of cigarettes. In later Kevin Smith films, notably Clerks II, all cigarettes are from the fictional brand "List of View Askewniverse motifs#Nails" and the cigarette pack artwork has a coffin with the cigarettes being the metaphorical 'nails' in the coffin (in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, a poster advertising Nails shows an X-ray of a human lung containing several three-inch nails). This is also a reference to the line " sell you nails in your coffin" from a Chewlies gum representative earlier in the film. However, in Clerks, assorted real-world brands are visible (if not particularly distinct) behind the counter.

Home video release Clerks was first released on VHS on May 23, 1995. On August 30, 1995 a laserdisc version was issued. This version features the original letterboxed version of the film, audio commentary by Smith and various cast and crew members, seven deleted scenes from the film, a theatrical trailer and a music video for "Can't Even Tell" performed by Soul Asylum.

The first DVD incarnation of the film appeared on June 29, 1999. The special features for the DVD do not vary from the laserdisc features. It was then released as a 3-disc, tenth anniversary edition set in 2004.

The film was released on UMD (playable on PlayStation Portable) on November 15, 2005. Special features include "Clerks: The Lost Scene", "The Flying Car" and original cast auditions. In the fall of 2006, a new edition of the Clerks DVD appeared in Canada, dubbed the Clerks: Snowball Edition. The new release included a photo of a bikini-clad model on the cover and some of the extra features from the 1999 edition. It appears Smith was not involved in this release, as he indicated on his official message forum in August 2006 that he was not aware of its release.

Clerks. X On September 7, 2004, a tenth anniversary edition of Clerks was released. The 3-disc set is commonly known as "Clerks. X" as part of the Miramax Collector's Series. The features for this version of the DVD include:



Disc 1: Theatrical Feature

Disc 2: Clerks: The First Cut

Disc 3: Bonus Features

Soundtrack The soundtrack to the film was released on October 11, 1994. It was comprised of various songs by alternative artists and sound clips from the film. It has been noted that Clerks is one of the very few films in which the cost of obtaining the rights to the music used was greater than the production costs for the entire film.

Vocabulary title cards Various title cards are used throughout the film (after the title card for the film's title itself, "Clerks," with the exception of Dante). While some are merely the names of the characters that the ensuing scenes introduce, many of them are long vocabulary words that Smith pulled from a dictionary. Though none of the vocabulary terms are defined in the film, the enhanced trivia track on the Clerks. X DVD defines them as they appear.

On the DVD, the film is split into 18 scenes. Each scene is titled by a corresponding title card with the first being "Dante/Opening Credits" and the last being "End Credits".
  • Dante
  • Vilification - An act of making cruel and insulting statements about a person
  • Jay and Silent Bob
  • Randal
  • Syntax - The arrangement of something in a methodical manner
  • Vagary - An erratic or peculiar modification, act or thought
  • Purgation - An act of getting rid of something disagreeable, flawed or unsatisfactory
  • Malaise - An all-around feeling of illness or bad health without any exact cause
  • Harbinger - A person or thing that predicts the future
  • Perspicacity - The intensity of judgment or observation
  • Paradigm - A typical example of something
  • Whimsy - A thought that has no apparent explanation to exist
  • Quandary - A condition of doubt or uncertainty as to what to do in a certain situation
  • Lamentation - An act or expression of sadness or distress
  • Juxtaposition - An act of comparing two things, especially in a way that suggests connection between them or to distinguish them
  • Catharsis - An event or sensation of spiritual cleansing brought on by a powerful emotional experience
  • Denouement - The part of the ending in which all questions are answered and everything is cleared up


    • Related projects Following Clerks, Smith set several more films in the same "world", which he calls the View Askewniverse of overlapping characters and stories. Of all of Smith's films, however, Clerks is the one with the most direct spin-off products.

    Clerks: The TV Show A pilot for a live action TV series was produced in 1995. It was produced by The Walt Disney Company and Buena Vista Distribution. The pilot only referenced the character names and starred none of the cast from the original film, contained no foul language, did not mention Jay and Silent Bob, and had nothing to do with Kevin Smith, as he was making his second film Mallrats at the time. Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson both auditioned for the role of Dante Hicks (as Anderson's part of Randal from the film had already been filled by former Saturday Night Live performer Jim Breuer). After seeing the result, Smith said that it was terrible, and O'Halloran and Anderson said they were both glad they didn't get the part of Dante.

    Clerks: The Animated Series Clerks: The Animated Series was a short-lived six-episode animated television series of the same name, featuring the same characters and actors. Two episodes aired on the American Broadcasting Company network (a subsidiary of the Disney company, which also owns Miramax, the studio which released many of Smith's films, including Clerks itself) in late May/early June 2000 before vanishing from the lineup altogether. The Comedy Central network eventually broadcast all six episodes of the series in 2004, as part of its late-night and weekend programming. A feature animated film is planned, based on the series, titled Clerks: Sell Out.

    Clerks: The Comics Clerks is a series of comics written by Kevin Smith featuring characters from the film. In the series are Clerks: The Comic Book, Clerks: Holiday Special and Clerks: The Lost Scene. Smith has discussed plans for Clerks 1.5, a comic that would bridge the gap between the original film and its Clerks 2, to be included in a reprint of the Clerks. trade paperback.Rich Johnston. Comic Book Resources

    Clerks II The live-action, feature film sequel to Clerks was released on July 21, 2006 in film. The working title was The Passion of the Clerks, though the film was released under the title Clerks II. The credits for Dogma (film) stated "Jay and Silent Bob will return in Clerks 2: Hardly Clerkin", however, that project "evolved" into Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. The sequel features Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran reprising their roles as Dante and Randal. The two now work at a Mooby's restaurant after Randal's incompetence resulted in the destruction of the Quick Stop and RST Video.

    During press for Clerks II, Smith briefly discussed the possibility of a Clerks 3. Stating that "if there's ever gonna be a Clerks 3, it would be somewhere down the road in my 40s or 50s, when it might be interesting to check back in on Dante and Randal. But I don't know about Jay and Bob so much, cause at 45, leaning on a wall in front of a convenience store might be a little sad." http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20233192-5006023,00.htmlSmith has also jokingly talked about "Clerks 3: In Space."

    See also

    References

    References External links

    {{Infobox Film| name = Clerks| image = Clerks.jpg| caption = Theatrical release poster| director = Kevin Smith (filmmaker)| producer = Scott Mosier
    Kevin Smith (filmmaker)| writer = Kevin Smith (filmmaker)| starring = Brian O'Halloran
    Jeff Anderson
    Jason Mewes
    Kevin Smith (filmmaker)| cinematography = David Klein
    [Kevin Smith (filmmaker)| distributor = Miramax Films
    View Askew, [1994 in film| runtime = 92 min.| country = | language = English language| budget = $27,000 (original)
    $230,000 (post)| gross = $3,151,130| website = http://www.viewaskew.com/clerks/| followed_by = Clerks II (2006)] written and directed by Kevin Smith (filmmaker) (who also appears in the film in a minor role). Starring Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks and Jeff Anderson as Randal Graves, it presents a day in the lives of two shop clerks and their acquaintances. Clerks was the first of Smith's "View Askewniverse" films. It introduces several characters, notably Jay and Silent Bob, who reappear in View Askewniverse.

    Plot Dante Hicks is a clerk at the Quick Stop, a local convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey. One morning, he receives a phone call from his boss, who claims that another employee is sick. After a brief argument, he reluctantly agrees to work, on the promise that he will be relieved at twelve o'clock so he can play hockey with his friends. When he arrives to open up the store, he realizes that the shutters outside won't open because someone jammed gum in the locks. With the shutters down, the store appears closed, so he writes "I assure you; we're open" in shoe polish on a large bed sheet and hangs it in front of the store.

    Next, a man enters the store to buy coffee and talks a customer into buying chewing gum instead of cigarettes after showing him a human lung corroded by tar. A group forms around Dante angry that he is "selling death", and proceeds to call him a "Cancer Merchant". After Dante is assaulted with cigarettes, his girlfriend Veronica Loughran enters, acting quickly and calming the crowd by spraying them with a fire extinguisher. After a conversation, it is revealed that the man that aroused the crowd into action was a chewing gum representative, and was stirring up the smokers with intent on selling more gum.

    A bit later, Dante and Veronica have a conversation regarding Dante's current disposition. After the conversation, Dante meets an old boyfriend of Veronica's, Willam "Snowball" Black (known as such for his enjoyment of his own semen being passed back into his mouth after fellatio). After a conversation, it is revealed that Veronica has, throughout her life, performed fellatio on 37 different men, for which Dante is furious, considering Veronica hit him in the previous conversation for having sex with twelve different women. Next, Dante's fellow clerk, Randal Graves, who works at the neighboring video store, shows up late once again. Dante later finds out that his ex-girlfriend Caitlin Bree is to be married to an Asian design major, much to Dante's disdain. As they pass time during the day they converse about many things, such as if the contractors working on the second Death Star when it was destroyed at the end of Return of the Jedi were innocent victims or not.

    Dante eventually learns that his boss is in Vermont, so he decides to play hockey on the roof, and closes down the store, leaving a sign on the door explaining, "Store Closed. Will Re-open After 1st Period." Twelve minutes into the game an irate customer shoots their only ball off the roof and into a gutter. The two reopen the store and Dante finds out one of his ex-girlfriends has died and her memorial service is today. Randal talks him into closing the store again and going to the wake. The audience does not see what happened inside the house containing the memorial service, simply seeing them go in, time pass, a woman scream and the two run out (it should be noted that due to an unfilmed scene inside the house being animated for the 10th Anniversary Edition DVD, it is now known that while at the memorial Randal accidentally knocks over her coffin after trying to retrieve keys that are dropped in as an accident, and the body falls out). They rush back and when they return to the store, Randal asks to borrow Dante's car to rent a film on VHS tape.

    While on duty, a fitness trainer enters the store, and criticizes Dante's body size, and observes that he's out of shape, even asking a customer for her opinion. It turns out the three actually attended high school together, and the two customers reveal that even they knew of Caitlin's infidelity, although Dante was oblivious. During the conversation, another man enters, and questions Dante about where he was earlier in the day, then serves Dante a summons. It turns out the man is there to serve Dante a $500 fine for selling cigarettes to a four-year-old, even though it was Randal who actually sold the cigarettes.

    After Randal leaves, Dante is surprised by a visit from Caitlin. After some banter Dante becomes torn between her and Veronica. Dante finally decides he will go on a date with Caitlin and drives home to change, after Randal returns. When Dante returns he discovers Caitlin has had sex with a dead man in the bathroom mistaking him for Dante (the man had earlier entered the bathroom with a pornographic magazine). In severe shock, Caitlin is taken away in an ambulance along with the corpse she recently fornicated with. Later, Veronica comes into the Quickstop and yells at Dante after Randal tells her he was in love with Caitlin. The two, Dante and Randal, get into a huge fight then reconcile. The film ends with Randal walking out of the store before briefly returning to toss Dante's sign at him stating, "You're closed!" Kevin Smith. Clerks and Chasing Amy : Two Screenplays. Miramax Books. 1997.

    The Lost Scene The events of Julie Dwyer's wake were scripted by Smith, but unfilmed due to the probable cost of producing the scene. However, for the tenth anniversary "Clerks X" DVD release, this scene was produced in animated form using an animation style similar to that of Clerks: The Animated Series. The 'lost scene' was also presented in comic book form of the Clerks. comic book series, with the title of Clerks. (comic)#Clerks. (The Lost Scene).

    Dante Hicks and Randal Graves, after hearing of the death of Dante's former high school flame Julie Dwyer, go to her wake. At the wake, Randal picks up some death cards from a table and discusses collecting them like baseball cards. Dante also runs into another former high school classmate, Alyssa Jones. Alyssa tells Dante that she was going to see Julie's appearance on Truth or Date (see Mallrats) before she learned of her death. Randal walks over to the two and greets Alyssa with "Hey, 'Finger Cuffs'!", prompting her to angrily storm off.

    As Dante and Randal wait in line to see Julie Dwyer's casket, Dante recalls the time he and Julie were caught having sex by her parents. When the two arrive at the casket, they question the choice of Julie's funeral clothing (a tube top), and Randal decides he's bored and wants to go to the car. Dante throws him the keys, but Randal misses the catch and the keys fall into Julie's pants. Dante reaches into the pants to find the keys while Randal rubs his shoulders, making it seem like Dante's upset. Julie's father pushes Randal out of the way and, after seeing Dante's actions, pounces on him. Randal is then pushed by Mrs. Dwyer and bumps into Julie's casket, which topples over, as does Julie's body. Randal catches the keys as they fly into the air, and he and Dante run out abruptly.

    Cast

    Production The film is in black-and-white and roughly edited due to a very modest budget of US$27,575. To acquire the funds for the film, Smith sold a large amount of his extensive comic book collection in 1993, maxed out eight to ten credit cards with $2000 limits, dipped into a portion of funds set aside for his college education and spent insurance money awarded for a car he and Jason Mewes lost in a flood. View Askewniverse Miscellaneous Info. The film was shot in 21 straight days (with two "pick-up" days). Originally, Smith wrote the role of Randal Graves for himself, but after realizing he couldn't write, direct, work in the store, and take a starring role at the same time, he cast himself in the smaller role of Silent Bob and began searching for someone to play Randal. According to Smith's commentary on the DVD, this is why Randal has the best lines.

    A Quick Stop convenience store (located at 58 Leonard Avenue in Leonardo, New Jersey) where Smith worked was the primary setting for the film. He was only allowed to film in the store at night while it was closed (from 10:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.). This is why in the film "someone jammed gum in the locks" and the steel window shutter had to remain closed; otherwise, it would seem odd that it was dark outside during all the daytime scenes. Because Smith was working at Quick Stop during the day and shooting the film at night, he slept no more than an hour a day. By the end of the 21 day shoot, Smith was unable to stay awake while some of the most climactic scenes of the film were shot.

    Several members of Smith's family played roles in the film due to budget constraints. When Dante is discussing the "Milk Maids", the shopper shown is Smith's mother and the customer whose job it is to "manually masturbate caged animals for artificial insemination" is played by Smith's sister, Virginia. Several of Smith's childhood friends also play roles in the film. Walt Flanagan plays four roles in this film: The "Woolen Cap Smoker" in the beginning (which he reprises in Clerks II), the famous "Egg Man", the "Offended Customer" (during the "jizz mopper" scene) and the "Cat Admiring Bitter Customer,". Walt never intended to play this many roles (Smith would often, in jest, refer to Flanagan as "the Lon Chaney, Sr. of the '90s"). As one of Smith's friends who was present often during filming as either extra help or just moral support, it fell to Walt to play these characters when the actors Smith originally got to play them just didn't show up. Walter currently manages Kevin's East Coast "Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash" in Red Bank, New Jersey.

    Dante's beard changes throughout the film because Smith asked Brian O'Halloran to shave his goatee before filming started. After seeing what O'Halloran looked like without it, Smith told him to grow it back. Thus, the scenes earlier in the shoot show a thinner beard, while later ones show Dante with a thicker goatee, as it had longer to grow back.

    In the scene where Randal lists the names of the porno movies he needs to order, he and the Happy Scrappy Hero Pup lady are not actually in the room at the same time. Jeff Anderson refused to read the list of porno films in front of her, and particularly in front of the child (although the reaction shots of the Happy Scrappy Hero Pup lady were obtained by a crew member reading the same list to her). In fact, Anderson also felt uncomfortable about knowing his mother would watch the film and hear the list and he, embarrassed, gave the list back to Smith to cut it down - mere seconds before shooting, Smith passed the list back to Anderson with a few more added for good measure. The young girl in this scene is Ashley Pereira, niece of Vincent Pereira (Director of "A Better Place" and "resident View Askew historian").

    The original ending for the film was meant to continue from when Randal throws Dante's "I Assure You, We're Open" sign to him. After Randal leaves, Dante proceeds to count out the register and does not notice another person entering the store. Upon informing the latecomer that the store is no longer open, the customer shoots Dante, killing him. Afterwards, he makes off with the money from the cash register. The sequence ends with Dante's dead face looking off past the camera; after the credits roll, a customer (played by Smith, with his beard shaved off) comes into the store, sees no one around (Dante is lying behind the counter) and steals some cigarettes. The depressing ending was criticized by Smith's mentors Bob Hawk and John Pierson after its first screening at the Independent Feature Film Market, and it was under Pierson's advice that Smith cut the ending short, deleting Dante's death and ending the movie with Randal's departure. Fans have since analyzed the death of Dante as an homage to The Empire Strikes Back, which is discussed earlier in the film as Dante's favorite Star Wars movie because "it ended on such a down note". Deleted scenes from the extended cut of the film also implied that the killer would never be caught, as Randal disconnects the security cameras earlier in the day. Smith said it concluded this way because he "didn't know how to end a film." Both versions are available in Clerks. X, the tenth anniversary special edition; the lost ending itself was among the extras on the 1995 Laserdisc and the 1999 DVD release; in his commentary on the 1999 DVD, Smith states that had he kept the original ending, there would have likely been no further View Askewniverse films. The culprit in question was played by Smith's cousin John Willyung, who would go on to appear in later Smith films (most notably as "Cohee Lunden" in Chasing Amy).

    The Motion Picture Association of America originally gave Clerks an MPAA film rating system, based purely on the film's explicit dialogue — it contains no real violence, and no clearly depicted nudity. This was a financial death sentence, as very few cinemas in the United States will screen NC-17 films. Miramax hired civil liberties lawyer Alan Dershowitz to appeal the decision; the MPAA relented and re-rated the film with the more commercial 'R' rating, without altering a single frame or word.

    View Askew references Clerks

    The Lost Scene

    Reception The film became a surprising success after it was taken by Miramax Films and has made over $3,151,000 gross in the United States despite never playing on more than 100 theater screens in the United States at the same time. Box Office History for Clerks Movies, Nash Information Services, LLC. 1997-2006 Clerks won the "Award of the Youth" and the "Mercedes-Benz Award" at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival, tied with Fresh (film) for the "Filmmakers Trophy" at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards (Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay and Jeff Anderson for Best Debut Performance).IMDB List of Awards for Clerks. In 2000, readers of Total Film magazine voted Clerks the 16th greatest comedy film of all time and in 2006, British film magazine Empire (magazine) listed Clerks as the 4th greatest independent film. This film is also number 33 on Bravo (television network)'s 100 Funniest Movies. DigitalDreamDoor rated it the 7th best cult movie of all time and is in the Top 100 movies of the 90s.

    Themes Often the items that the customers are purchasing are strangely and coincidentally relevant to the topics the characters are discussing. For example, the woman who interrupts Dante and Veronica's conversation about oral sex is purchasing Vaseline and rubber gloves. The offended customer in the "Jizz Mopper" scene is purchasing Windex and paper towels. The woman who "manually masturbates animals for artificial insemination" is purchasing jerky.

    Because the filmmakers did not want to pay for the rights to use a particular cigarette brand, customers only ask for a "pack of cigarettes". Many fans pass this off by assuming that the Quick Stop only carries one brand of cigarettes. In later Kevin Smith films, notably Clerks II, all cigarettes are from the fictional brand "List of View Askewniverse motifs#Nails" and the cigarette pack artwork has a coffin with the cigarettes being the metaphorical 'nails' in the coffin (in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, a poster advertising Nails shows an X-ray of a human lung containing several three-inch nails). This is also a reference to the line " sell you nails in your coffin" from a Chewlies gum representative earlier in the film. However, in Clerks, assorted real-world brands are visible (if not particularly distinct) behind the counter.

    Home video release Clerks was first released on VHS on May 23, 1995. On August 30, 1995 a laserdisc version was issued. This version features the original letterboxed version of the film, audio commentary by Smith and various cast and crew members, seven deleted scenes from the film, a theatrical trailer and a music video for "Can't Even Tell" performed by Soul Asylum.

    The first DVD incarnation of the film appeared on June 29, 1999. The special features for the DVD do not vary from the laserdisc features. It was then released as a 3-disc, tenth anniversary edition set in 2004.

    The film was released on UMD (playable on PlayStation Portable) on November 15, 2005. Special features include "Clerks: The Lost Scene", "The Flying Car" and original cast auditions. In the fall of 2006, a new edition of the Clerks DVD appeared in Canada, dubbed the Clerks: Snowball Edition. The new release included a photo of a bikini-clad model on the cover and some of the extra features from the 1999 edition. It appears Smith was not involved in this release, as he indicated on his official message forum in August 2006 that he was not aware of its release.

    Clerks. X On September 7, 2004, a tenth anniversary edition of Clerks was released. The 3-disc set is commonly known as "Clerks. X" as part of the Miramax Collector's Series. The features for this version of the DVD include:



    Disc 1: Theatrical Feature

    Disc 2: Clerks: The First Cut

    Disc 3: Bonus Features

    Soundtrack The soundtrack to the film was released on October 11, 1994. It was comprised of various songs by alternative artists and sound clips from the film. It has been noted that Clerks is one of the very few films in which the cost of obtaining the rights to the music used was greater than the production costs for the entire film.

    Vocabulary title cards Various title cards are used throughout the film (after the title card for the film's title itself, "Clerks," with the exception of Dante). While some are merely the names of the characters that the ensuing scenes introduce, many of them are long vocabulary words that Smith pulled from a dictionary. Though none of the vocabulary terms are defined in the film, the enhanced trivia track on the Clerks. X DVD defines them as they appear.

    On the DVD, the film is split into 18 scenes. Each scene is titled by a corresponding title card with the first being "Dante/Opening Credits" and the last being "End Credits".
  • Dante
  • Vilification - An act of making cruel and insulting statements about a person
  • Jay and Silent Bob
  • Randal
  • Syntax - The arrangement of something in a methodical manner
  • Vagary - An erratic or peculiar modification, act or thought
  • Purgation - An act of getting rid of something disagreeable, flawed or unsatisfactory
  • Malaise - An all-around feeling of illness or bad health without any exact cause
  • Harbinger - A person or thing that predicts the future
  • Perspicacity - The intensity of judgment or observation
  • Paradigm - A typical example of something
  • Whimsy - A thought that has no apparent explanation to exist
  • Quandary - A condition of doubt or uncertainty as to what to do in a certain situation
  • Lamentation - An act or expression of sadness or distress
  • Juxtaposition - An act of comparing two things, especially in a way that suggests connection between them or to distinguish them
  • Catharsis - An event or sensation of spiritual cleansing brought on by a powerful emotional experience
  • Denouement - The part of the ending in which all questions are answered and everything is cleared up


    • Related projects Following Clerks, Smith set several more films in the same "world", which he calls the View Askewniverse of overlapping characters and stories. Of all of Smith's films, however, Clerks is the one with the most direct spin-off products.

    Clerks: The TV Show A pilot for a live action TV series was produced in 1995. It was produced by The Walt Disney Company and Buena Vista Distribution. The pilot only referenced the character names and starred none of the cast from the original film, contained no foul language, did not mention Jay and Silent Bob, and had nothing to do with Kevin Smith, as he was making his second film Mallrats at the time. Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson both auditioned for the role of Dante Hicks (as Anderson's part of Randal from the film had already been filled by former Saturday Night Live performer Jim Breuer). After seeing the result, Smith said that it was terrible, and O'Halloran and Anderson said they were both glad they didn't get the part of Dante.

    Clerks: The Animated Series Clerks: The Animated Series was a short-lived six-episode animated television series of the same name, featuring the same characters and actors. Two episodes aired on the American Broadcasting Company network (a subsidiary of the Disney company, which also owns Miramax, the studio which released many of Smith's films, including Clerks itself) in late May/early June 2000 before vanishing from the lineup altogether. The Comedy Central network eventually broadcast all six episodes of the series in 2004, as part of its late-night and weekend programming. A feature animated film is planned, based on the series, titled Clerks: Sell Out.

    Clerks: The Comics Clerks is a series of comics written by Kevin Smith featuring characters from the film. In the series are Clerks: The Comic Book, Clerks: Holiday Special and Clerks: The Lost Scene. Smith has discussed plans for Clerks 1.5, a comic that would bridge the gap between the original film and its Clerks 2, to be included in a reprint of the Clerks. trade paperback.Rich Johnston. Comic Book Resources

    Clerks II The live-action, feature film sequel to Clerks was released on July 21, 2006 in film. The working title was The Passion of the Clerks, though the film was released under the title Clerks II. The credits for Dogma (film) stated "Jay and Silent Bob will return in Clerks 2: Hardly Clerkin", however, that project "evolved" into Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. The sequel features Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran reprising their roles as Dante and Randal. The two now work at a Mooby's restaurant after Randal's incompetence resulted in the destruction of the Quick Stop and RST Video.

    During press for Clerks II, Smith briefly discussed the possibility of a Clerks 3. Stating that "if there's ever gonna be a Clerks 3, it would be somewhere down the road in my 40s or 50s, when it might be interesting to check back in on Dante and Randal. But I don't know about Jay and Bob so much, cause at 45, leaning on a wall in front of a convenience store might be a little sad." http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20233192-5006023,00.htmlSmith has also jokingly talked about "Clerks 3: In Space."

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    Clerks



     
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